Small Growers Struggling to Get Into the Big Market, According to Meeting Held Thursday in Ukiah

An article in the Emerald Report, a cannabis centered news site affiliated with the Press Democrat out of Santa Rosa, reported on Thursday night’s hearing in Ukiah which included government officials and cannabis industry experts. According to the article, Sonoma County Agricultural Commissioner Tony Linegar was “unequivocal in his biting analysis that both state and local regulations are prohibitively stringent and have stifled the ability of existing cultivators to legalize their operations.”

The writer, Julie Johnson, quotes Linegar as saying,

If the overall goal of the program was to favor a corporate, big dollar, new money industry then we have succeeded…If the goal was to create a workable pathway for existing operators, then I think we have failed.

The overall feeling expressed in the article was that small farmers were being squeezed out while corporations were snapping up many of the permits. According to the article, Mark Shaffer of Comptche, a cannabis grower, pointed out that in Santa Barbara County one “entity was said to have nabbed 87 cultivation licenses.” This was confirmed at the hearing.

Interestingly, Bill Silver of CannCraft said there weren’t enough licensed operators to get his company the cannabis it needs.” The article quoted him as saying, “There’s no way we can stay in business unless something happens to free up supply, it’s a chokehold.”

I believe it’s working exactly the way it was secretly intended. Remember- the prop was written by a billionaire and funded by other billionaires who then stacked the state committee with their corporate stooges. A simple reading of the prop would have enlightened the reader to the fact that everything of substantial policy would be decided in the future (not in the prop) by this appointed committee. Yet not many cared to read beyond the first sentence and embraced “Legalization” when the billionaires’ public relations flooded the media with thoughts of “being free” and “lower prices”. And then when people like myself tried to point out the reality we were shut down and called “greedy growers” or such….This scene is going down exactly as they planned. A willfully ignorant population voted for their own corporate domination. It makes me discouraged in democracy as it shows that we may now be too stupid to even vote in our own interests! A shocking travesty insisted upon by the very public that it harms…

Welcome to rural California, we are controlled by greed and power from areas far away from us and our interests, and weed is just one of those many interests that we are losing control of.
We can only hope that enough people will start to wake up and pull their heads out of their asses and realize that Hollywood Los Angeles San Francisco are only concerned about greed and Power and are the driving forces that are sending this state into Financial ruin

IT IS IN RUIN NOW, THEY CANT TAX YOU ENOUGH, FINES FOR INFRACTIONS OF THE LAW HAVE BEEN TRIPLED, A FRIEND PAID 340.00 FOR RUNNING A RED, IN THE BAY AREA. NOT TO FORGET OUR FIRE TAX AND DOUBLING OUR REGISTRATION FEES, TAX ON FUEL, WHEN WILL IT STOP?

I second that! I can’t understand why people thought that small farms wouldn’t be put out of business. The market prices don’t support small farmers instate anymore not when you have to pay a 70% tax rate on your gross to the IRS.

You are illinformed. But a relaxation of regulations, yes. Oregon has many of the values the state of Jefferson looks towards. Yes it was a right wing movement back in the day, but right and left reasoning has changed a lot over the years, and many older lefties are feeling very anti-govt these days.
Anyway, the state of CA doesn’t represent us so much, our water interests and other issues as well.

No, the current movement is different and is only nominally related to that crowd. It’s not just the libertarians now. Overtaxation and overregulation is still considered a problem. But it all goes back to lack of representation and control of local resources.

I agree. The billionaires had their hand bought in it already before it became legalized. As for Tom allman should have reassured us in Mendocino county we has support to be consistent with business as it fed mental health issue funding and kept the economy going. But yes there is there is greedy folks but simply making it a strict 200 plant limit per plot.household.yard per se.could have done good. There should have been no billionaire to ever come in our counties unless their were ultimately ready to support our small town communities in community service and donations in school and other related public events. This should have been thought out better or even taken into consideration on what the market was going to do to the honest folks. Please share input.

That would be fair, it’s a good idea, but our govt system and any govt system is run by those who show up, and advocate for themselves. So as you can see it’s the Pat Murphys on our little scene who got the rules to benefit them, and bigger versions of people like him who helped write the laws on the state levels. Ma and pa don’t have a voice, that’s just how it is. And maybe there is a good reason environmentally to keep everybody with a yard from having 200 plants. Idk.

First it was dividing indoor and outdoor people Then 5 acres and less, then grow big or go “home” , then permitted and non-permitted. Next will be any mid or bigger growers in Humboldt. Then the larger growers in Monterrey and Colorado. Then it will just be corporate farms in the central valley. History repeats itself. Each step further divides people until there is very little opposition or competition left. That’s how they roll.

There are always those who imagine dark conspiracies behind anything the government does. It is however, much more likely that the current problems in the cannabis market are just the unintended consequences of bad decisions by those whose job it is to develop the regulatory system; including the too-high taxes, the bungled Track and Trace roll out, etc., etc. Taxing the product on a per pound basis rather than value was one really bad one, which has become obvious with the steep decline in prices. Hopefully the regulators will pay attention to the negative feedback they’re justifiably receiving and revise the system so it functions the way the voters who approved it intended.

Umm…not a “conspiracy theory” here. just an understanding of how business works. And especially large corporate business as it sets up to take over a pre-existing billion dollar industry!! Please go read some basic business history- I’d suggest something about the early strategies of Standard Oil to start with. You should then see the obvious strategical manipulations in a clearer light. Then really pay attention to what is happening with the state commission and their decisions- nearly all in direct contrast to what was advertised to the voters in Prop 64. It’s not a conspiracy theory if it really is happening…

For 30+ years growers have been making big money tax free while many collect welfare benefits. This has been coming for years if they were smart they would have saved money and went legit but they spend it as fast as they make it. you hack on cooperation for being evil. The truth is that are smart and the growers are idiots living for the moment. vote in some more liberal democrats that will fix it. Look at how good socialism worked in Venezuela, one of the biggest oil exporters yet they are crumbling under socialist paradise.

You seem to think corporations care about you or your community? Only to the extent that they can extract a profit. The powerful and rich and greedy are all behind those corporate boards that have their minions cycle through the gpvernment sector to keep those kontacts and operations running on time.
We are being slowly poisoned by the food, air, and water. Human nature is human nature. The killer in me is the killer in you. SEEN?

Prop 64 opened Pandora”s Box and unleashed a world of problems. The Mega Corporations played the Mom & Pops, small farmers and created a really divisive atmosphere in our small rural communities. They facilitated this process through the Humboldt Growers Association, Wonderland, 2nd & 3rd generation growers, paid a crap load of money to our BOSs and State Representatives. Attacked, bullied, slandered, anyone they perceived opposed to their agenda. Local long time residents harassed & slandered, non growers chastised and told to leave Humboldt if they did not like the direction everyone knew would lead us into financial and economic ruin. Perceived as anti Cannabis!
Time to accept the truth. Time to reevaluate our economic future and face reality. Time to redefine the Emerald Triangle”s economic abilities and talents.

Thank you! Don’t forget CCV-H and the larger growers who thought they’d get ahead (not minding if that meant they crushed their neighbor mom n pops)- Emerald Family, Honeydew Farms, Riverside, etc etc. Of course there were external forces like Steve D’Angelo but the locals were truly the opportunistic traitors.

Humboldt can rise up and create Hemp Industies….paper, cement, oil, seed…Humboldt IS a living creative & fun wonderful place to be. This is a time for new beginning. The next generation can grow Hemp and make plenty of money legally and righteously and be respected by all intelligent beings everywhere, for all the right reasons. Enlarge your perspectives…this is historic. Think smart,be smart, do smart things. Wake up to what’s possible in this ” legal market”.

Seems like it’s not as busy, atleast here in willow creek but yes they are still small farmers that are planting. The intelligent, efficient, craft artisinal farmers that understand how to do things economically and are creating the top shelf. Honestly the market became flooded with a bunch of low grade product because everyone blew it up last year but there’s still a demand for that top shelf craft cannabis.

Sounds like a lot of people are not planting, some are doubling up production, and it seems to me like not many people are going through with their initial plans to go ‘legal’ It’s tricky to to follow all the guidelines, from all the documentation to the track and trace training (state and local – two different programs) etc etc…

Looks like a lot of people looking to cut corners and will probably be growing crap. It’s tough times (unless you’re pro:)

Yeah you can get top shelf cannabis anywhere in California .. in fact growers are begging people to buy it … the Humboldt name doesn’t mean shit anymore . You can go to la and find good cheap indoor all day long . Sorry suckers

Nobody wants that sick room salt trash indoor that’s why they are begging for buyers. You seem like you want your narrative to play out so bad, I bet it won’t just despite you. Salty vibes have a tendency to backfire.

Pshhh, Humboldt means more than you will ever know, given your amateur statement.

One thing Humboldt represents was, the beginning of something special & it still touches everyone’s lives today. You wouldn’t have sqwat to smoke today, but some Brown Mexi swag! Multiple generations risked their homes, families & lives, hiding & manipulating genetics, under the shadow of the law, prior to mainstream acceptance. If it wasn’t for them, you’d be smoking the nasty, lil one. This new found acceptance is thanks to the years of those black market days, but you probably weren’t even born yet, so I understand if you don’t remember or knew, it’s ok, live & learn.

Without Humboldt, legalization would have never come to be. So hooray , there’s good smoke everywhere now, so what! Just remember why that is and stop speaking out your a** & respect the elders who paved way, for what you experience today!

Agreed but still- all that sentiment and three dollars will get you a cup of coffee. Markets in major cities don’t care about origin whether Sonoma, Humboldt or Oregon. They want visuals, smell, good price and stoniness. From wherever! Origin don’t mean crap and doesn’t warrant an extra penny anymore. All we have is a colorful history that is worth nothing in the marketplace.

Ya’ll still talking out your arse’s! Origins smorgins! Sure uninformed minds dont care & will go somewhere else for now on, but it’s called respect for your elders, [edit]. So go to the club anywhere all you want. Lmao! Just remember why your able to do so & stop talking out you arse’s!

The conversation was about sm growers having a hard time, but you sounded like a disrespectful[edit], YOU STATED 1ST & IT WAS NOT NECESSARY! That’s where I was going with it. You then proceeded on with more insults, to justify your original action & then attempt to act intelligent in doing so. 😂Wow! No Oscar for you!

If you don’t like being called on your Sucky behavior, then get out the kitchen[edit]! [edit]

He insulted the group 1st by calling the group suckers. I called him out on his behavior & yes, I did insult back.
Soooo how is “Sorry suckers!”, not an insult but an opinion of a group? I’m confused here Mrs. Kemp. So, insulting a group is ok like pshh did but insults, individually are not? uhh ok? I really don’t see how he stated the opinion of a group here. Enlighten me some more with this weird logic please?

Then you deleted the edited version, I placed cause I’m aware I slipped up 😂, ROTF! Is this a news outlet or a personal blog outlet with censors? I’m having trouble taking you or your site serious at all.

So let me see here, I can insult all your readers vs just 1, like Pshh?

All you are,
Suckers for reading this smut blog!

If your gonna run a censored news site, at least list your strict rules, so folks can participate on your restrictive site. It will save you time, picking & choosing who speaks & not, based on you personal opinion.

Yes, insulting groups is allowed (though not encouraged) but individual insults are not because I only have so much energy to edit but insulting individuals leads to entire comment strings of “You’re an asshole” and “so is your mom” which is boring to read, unproductive, and not what I want on this news site. It isn’t news or informative.

All civilized organizations or groups have guidelines to encourage productive interactions and discourage unproductive ones. I do post my comment guidelines regularly. Here they are again.
They are designed to promote civil discussion.

1. Civility is valued by the moderator.
2. Insulting other commenters will get you deleted. Do it too often and you will get banned.
3. No slurs–racial, ethnic, gender, political etc. Also, stop calling local places by sneering nicknames.
4. Try to add value to the website by offering information, art, humor or, most of all, thoughtful discussion.
5. Free speech is valued by the moderator and sometimes that trumps civility but don’t push it.
6. Also, grammar, punctuation, spelling criticisms should come from parents, teachers, and bosses not anonymous people on the internet. If you can understand what someone says, refrain from telling them how to edit their comments. The one exception to this is me. If I make an error, politely pointing it out is fine.
7. Punch up. Mocking people in positions of authority is acceptable, sometimes even helpful. Mocking children, the disabled, those suffering from misfortunate, those in a minority who don’t have power is something a bully does.
8. Don’t threaten or encourage violence.

It’s mass produced indoor down in LA Hence why it is cheap. I know plenty of people still getting 18-2 for their inns up here. Plus like the comment below me stated not alot of people want cannabis grown with salt based nutrients. Organic composted super soils with the addition of compost teas, the sun, great genetics & a skilled craftsman you can still make it. All that’s happening right now is the big mass producers who never adjusted their practices are going broke. Yes I see alot of outs for 5-7 but they aren’t really that good anyways. I have also seen some top shelf craft outdoor cannabis still fetching 12 here in Humboldt. It’s not about being “pro” either it’s about loving what you do and doing it from the heart and dedicating your whole being to it. Most people don’t give a crap about the plant or nature in general. Cannabis farming is just about money for them. When It’s a passion there’s alot of attention to detail and when you scale things back and focus in on a small craft crop it really shows in the product. Love what you do and do it with passion and respect, and definitely don’t ever trust the government. The cannabis movement was one born from resistance and counter culture. Away with taxes and long live the people’s market!!!!

Two points…The average recreational user gets plenty high on decent weed. The super weed that has been developed by local pot heads with high THC tolerance is freak out weed for the average weekend toker. But the biggest elephant in the room is the fact that 60%+ of all the legal cannabis being consumed in the state is in the form of oils and edibles which can be made from marijuana ordinaire which really favors the mega grow as the price drops. The interesting thing is the contradiction the government seems to be making. The people voted to make it legal but the county and state pile on the taxes like they do on tobacco only in this case tobacco does not lend itself to illegal production so the current fiscal conundrum insures traditional marketing ( illegal) will continue. The government has only succeeded in making folks who comply look like suckers.

Actually Humbolt, Mendocino and the Emerald Triangle name means a lot but not in a good way. The growers have become lazy and grow mediocre weed in general and want unrealistic prices. Of course there are exceptions.

For years, the small growers supported this county when ‘Humboldt weed’ was in demand everywhere. In the fall, businesses saw purchases of cars, trucks, stereo systems, jewelry, clothing and much more. Our county officials are part of destroying this. Humboldt pot is still some of the best, but nobody can get rid of it unless you grow hundreds of pounds. It might take a year or two, but the illegal market will return, and the cycle of eradication attempts and wasting tax money will begin all over again. CAMP will raise its ugly head again.

Over half of what is grown is going out of state. All of that is recreational, none is “medicinal herbs”. Growing food to eat is clearly a higher moral calling than helping people in New Jersey get high. The sanctimonious, holier-than-thou attitude is one more reason why some of us have less sympathy for growers than you might expect.

Kym.plz don’t let dump chump say such mean things.. “No one likes you here?” What is this, Jr high? Invalidating anyone, no matter how much they annoy u, or u disagree with their opinion , says much more about YOU than them.

How is anyone supposed to be able to afford to plant
If you have a 10,000 sq ft farm, then you have to pay last years 10,000 dollars tax due last February, plus waterboard wants another 3k due by end of march, also the next year 2018 cultivation taxes for another 10k are due an a month for 2018, paid upfront before you plant. Plus remember the 150 dollar a lb tax this year plus 150 in testing per 10 lbs of material. Also the cost of track and trace, 400 dollars for a training class. 90 dollars a month for a subscription for a track and trace reporting service. Plus State licenses! What a scam you need to buy 2 licenses one for medical and one for recreation, you cannot serve both, this doubles your costs. These permits alone cost 10,000 annually or more.

Legal extortion- Big business as usual. Check out the history of the California Dairy industry. In a 30 year period it went from a wonderful cottage industry to a regulated huge industry that made Mom&Pops cheeses illegal. Ferndale was the hub of the California dairy industry.( late 1800s). Try to read Barbara Kingsolver’s book, Animal Vegetable Miracle.

If it’s worth it all depends on the price the pounds can be sold for and that they do sell. Those are really the deciding factors.
I do agree those are stiff fee’s to have to work with. They should definitely be adjusted for small farms so they financially scale better.

Sounds like you are figuring it out. You didn’t include the ‘legal’ trimming expense of 225/lb, btw. Plus the growing and harvest labor, all above board with a legal employment agency to be sure, around 17.50/hour at minimum.

This is not true, people who live on the property are not considered employees, therefore you can have your extended family or people who you want to call family claim they are living at your house and even if its temporary they state cannot claim they are employees if they don’t identify themselves as such.

Your over complicating it emily, no real farmers gonna waste there time following the dumb rules.

Also trimming costs are 100 – 125 a lb on the legal market, you pay workers minimum wage and if they take 10 hours to trim a lb thats less than 100 dollars. DONE.

I heard it has to be processed at legitimate processing locations. The one in Manila is charging 225/lb. I’m not taking part in this market, this is from a friend who is doing it. But, I also hear about a lot of people planning on skirting the rules and fudging the specifics of the laws.. this works in a lot of industries, no doubt, but you better plan on people watching this industry like a hawk. The feds especially.

Also jojo, you could get sued big time if you don’t have workers comp insurance for your crew, it doesn’t matter if they aren’t listed as actual employees in your business. Doctors are mandated to report injuries on the worksite to the state, and if you get caught having people work for you that are not insured, you’ll get in trouble, and could easily be sued by your ‘employee’ or whatever. If you are going to go legit, go all the way and be smart… OSHA is going to be all over this new industry for sure. And personal injury lawyers. It’s a goldmine for them.

Indeed. Jojo has a self inflated view of herself. One minute she’s talking about how easy the permit process is, the next she’s agreeing that it’s bullshit. In reality, she’s probably never even run a lemonade stand. Her delusional comment about people flipping out when they see a picture of a blonde made me cringe with embarrassment for her.

How did anyone going into the permitting process not foresee the racket they signed themselves up for? Well I guess they admitted they were producing a schedule 1 narcotic on paper aswell so they can’t be that bright. Could that be why only a small number of people decided to apply for permits? Have fun with your 70% federal tax rate on your state legal cannabis business. Did you even factor that in to your overhead? Also did you forgot the added overhead for integrated pest management. Green cleaner costs a whole lot these days!!!

IPM is actually cheaper. But I’m sure you’re right on other counts. What they will define at first won’t really be IPM- it will have too many restrictions. Later on, when competition is reduced, they will redefine it to fit with other agricultural practices.

Yes. You are getting it. First the regs will work to thin the field. Only then will the regs be adjusted to accommodate the remaining corporate factories. They are another tool used to control the industry. Always presented as “for our own good and safety”!!

Yeah exactly. Right now spiromesifen is highly illegal to spray on your cannabis but it’s highly effective used correctly on broad and russet mites. I do not personally agree with Bayer chemicals but my point is that spiromesifen is sold in 2 product one is forbid 4f and one is Oberon. Forbid isn’t labeled for food crops as it’s way more concentrated but Oberon is labeled for food crops and once the corporations are dominating the legal market they will lobby to change the pesticide standards so they can spray this shit all over legal cannabis crops.

the federal tax rate is not 70% this is a misunderstanding.
Cannabis Clubs claim there LBs of weed as inventory, then try and deduct it from taxes.
IRS 280e stops them from doing this and outlines the deductions you are allowed to take as a cannabis farmer. As are farmer you are allowed to take almost all the deductions they would give a winery or other farm. You just cannot claim illegal products you buy and warehouse as inventory and deduct it from your taxes.

This really only affects dispensaries. The rest of the Cannabis farms are paying a normal amount of federal income taxes. + or – a few things in 280e.

I have no experience with weed, but I do know if I buy a tomato at the store and then buy a tomato at the local farmers market, what a huge difference. I pay more, but the quality is so worth it. I’d buy them year around if I could.

From my own experience in the industry what I can say is wait and see the market crash for all the invester class and corporate grows. Just keep up a high quality/low price point and watch them struggle with maintaining cash flow for their overvalued businesses. They will implode it on themselves, then we’ll see what’s left after that.
Big AG also.. hit the right price for good flower and watch their acres of weed stockpile and rot. This needs to happen unfortunately, and it’s going to take everyone to participate in the process. Retail shops will eventually struggle with price wars against each other and the consumers will grow tired of mass produced garbage. Big marijuana can lose but not if everyone goes down without a fight. Work hard, be a good person, stay strong, do the right thing. That’s about all we got here.

Well said. I’m happy to see all the people who are just in this for the money loose their asses. So many people doing this that don’t care about what they are producing like take pride in what you do! Do it with respect for the plant and the environment! Scale things back, pick up a few books maybe “Teaming with microbes”. Learn about soil science and microbiology. Maybe pick up a copy of the “breeders bible” to help understand how genetics work and play an important role in the picture. Develope a relationship with the plant and nature understand what it needs and when it needs it and how to nurture it. Not everyone but so many people since I move here i see caught up in the EGO of the industry. I see guys that drive lifted 60k trucks that don’t even use them for work. I see so many people that were just concerned about being the biggest guy on the block or making a million and competing with their neighbor. Instead of educating themselves about their craft and trade they party and vacation all winter living the high life and now they are finding that lifestyle isn’t sustainable. It’s the time and rise for the craft producer(granted they didn’t try for permits) I was never concerned with making millions and I’m eating and living just fine. F@ck the greed and EGO in Humboldt I don’t care for it I refuse to participate. I am happy and grateful to be alive and my ego does not crave the status of being a 10k-20k legal square foot farm. That’s what this permitting process was a trick on the egos of people, because they wanna blow shit up and be in the limelight.

The ego mentality is going to run a lot of the big dog cannabis farms into the ground.
These mega growers were sending all there weed out of state. It was this market that made them feel invincible and made them wealthy. How are they supposed to transition such a large organization into the legal market? They have too high of an overhead! I suspect they will fail. The more property cleanup, fees, permits, etc you need the harder it gets. People with small property’s are actually better off. At least they are not responsible for all the legacy damage done.

I think the ripe size for a farm is 10,000 sq ft anything below this is defiantly mom & pop anything above 10,000 sq ft is a commercial grow.

Troll Patrol, Yes that’s exactly what happened with the agricultural Market,the dairy and beef market, Timber Market ect.. oh wait no it’s not, they produce an inferior product, monopolize the production through legislation paid for by their lobbying efforts which they’re greatly exempt from and if all else fails they Lobby the government to subsidize their crops. Everybody makes it sound like this is some new frontier. This has happened to every industry in America, that’s why we have none and the ones we do are controlled by monopolize corporations many of which are subsidiaries of just a handful of international corporation. This is called crony capitalism which is a localized version of globalism. It comes down to the golden rule, those with the gold make the rules always been that way.

Interesting the Cannacraft Quote considering Cannacraft made over $50 million in 2016 and an estimated 200% increase in 2017 of over a $100 million, it is a given however that cannacraft depends on the Cannabis Community to supply them with product to “blast” with high pressure C02. Their products actually suppprt our local small farmers since Canna Craft owner Dennis Hunter also owns Absolute Extracts and numerous other subsidiaries. It is paramount that our counties stop the assault on the Small Cannabis Farmers. Everyone knows the real goal is in line with NWO Agenda 21 to move the “country folks” into the Cities and out of the hills. From fires to Water use the system and powers that be want us all living in cities, living on the grid, payimg power instead of solar as well as payimg these bs water districts. They are really attempting to move cannabis into the ag zones and onto the wineries and other large ag landholders.

Maybe everyone should just turn to being an Illegal Underground Seed Dealer like “Dying Breed Seeds”….. you know the guys, Neil Charles Smith AKA “Shiloh Massive” and Brandon P. that went around finding all the old school local strains and then mass marketed them to the masses for like $600 per pack with Fake New Names like Hot Lixx and OZKush Watermelon Zkittlez….. etc. Of course they been making millions of tax free income selling on the Black Market with their Moonshine Melts Pesticide contaminated concentrated hash and chemical Rosin! Funny Shiloh Massive has to use a fake name since his real name Neil Smith has been tainted…… why get a license when guys like this rip off the community with all their hype and over charging for a seed that grows by the millions…… $650 per pack os just WRONG AND GREEDY, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT IS A STOLEN STRAIN RENAMED SOME FAKE NAME! TALK EGO AND WANNA BE GANGSTAS these guysbare a complete joke, seems some guys are nothing but greedy. I wonder when the state will catch on and demand all the back tax and records for these phony ripoffs for the past five years of taxes after they sold bunk seeds they stole from our local small farms and resold them on IG and at local farmers markets while they got young kids high on hash trying to act like big shots.

Lol, it’s been fun watching Shiloh on his come up. I remember when he was hating his divorce and trying to flip 800$ pay the trim crew pounds. Time has certainly been good to him 🙂 don’t hate the player, hate the game

The only recourse that you have is to use the law as it’s weitten against the large producers. It’s going to hurt if weed is your only game. How do you get big business to pull out and go away??? You need to de monitize weed completly for a few years. That’s right plant, grow, harvest, cure and then give away all the product for free by the OZ just as stated within the law. Break the bank of the large grows make it completly unaffordable for a business to make a business of weed. Take the money out of it. Stamp out any remainding value it has and they will pull out faster than a teenager on his prom date. Make the proposition a complete failure by not engaging in the for profit market give it away for free. After the smoke clears write new legislation crafted in a way that is meaningful to small business, then hope it gets enacted.

County asks farmers to come to a training workshop for track and trace , 2 people for a farm at $400 . And what will the labels cost ? The market is is so insecure and the costs so unpredictable this seems to be an open ended money gouging by the county who are getting what they can before the industry collapses.

WE ARE JUST BEING FARMED BY OUR GOVT, THE NWO, SO KEEP VOTING THE LIBERAL TICKET AN GET THE JOB DONE QUICKER, THERE ARE ALREADY PLANS TO USE THE RAILROAD RIGHT OF WAY , AN TURN IT INTO RAILS TO TRAILS, DOING AWAY WITH PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS. AND TAX THE OWNERS OUT OF BUSINESS, SO YOU CAN LIVE IN A GHETTO OF PUBLIC HOUSING, ASK YOUR LOCAL POLITICIANS ABOUT THIS.

Where is all the support for the thousands of family food farms throughout the state that disappeared over the last 50 years due to inflated land prices, increased regulations, taxes, licensing, competition from imported foods, etc. They quietly lost their farms and moved away, no crying to the supervisors, states, anyone. They’re just gone.

Can someone crunch the numbers for me on a small operation, permitted? Say 10,000 square feet…1 pound per 10 square feet. That is 1000 pounds. Say, $700. a pound wholesale. That is $700,000 gross. Say half of that goes to permits, growing, processing, etc… that leaves $350,000. I know nothing about this industry, but that seems like a healthy income for 1/4 acre of agriculture. Someone please correct these numbers as I am just picking up from what I have read and have zero experience or knowledge. What am I missing here?

Desperately trying to reinflate a structural bubble that has already burst will be an extended exercise in frustration. But as the chief economic driver for this area over the last few decades, the local unfolding collateral damage becomes ever more obvious. It will be along time before the essentially contrived prosperity and associated lifestyle can be replaced with something else, if ever.